Illuminated ceiling



y 1959 s. M. POMEROY 2,886,697

ILLUMINATED CEILING I Filed Jan. 25, 1954 2 Sheets-sheet 1 v V I0 1ITENTOR.

/,/, SAWYER M. POMEROY BY FIG. 3 m

ATTORNEYS y 12, 1959 s M. POMEROY 2,886,697

ILLUMINATED CEILING I Filed Jan. 25, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.SAWYER M. POMEROY Jaydjay ATTORNEYS ILLUMINATED CEILING Sawyer M.Pomeroy, Lynrihurst, Ohio, assignor to The Vg. S. Tyler Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation Ohio Application January 25, 1954, SerialNo. 405,835

12 Claims. (Ci. 2409) This invention, relating as indicated to anilluminated ceiling, is particularly directed to a woven structuralmaterial of metallic strands which are rectangular in cross section andparallel to the ceiling, together with a source of illumination and alight reflecting surface behind said source of illumination, whereby anappearance of a glowing ceiling is obtained whch may be of indefiniteextent.

This invention further relates to a number of woven structuralmaterials, particularly metallic woven structural materials of lightmetals, such as aluminum, having light reflective surfaces and finisheswhich are adapted to direct and control the source of illumination,together with support means for said woven structural material toproduce a novel contrast which is continuous across an illuminated area,such as a lobby or the like.

An object of this invention is to produce an illuminated ceiling forpublic places, elevators, lobbies, and the like, which will not becomposed of glass or similar materials, which are in violation ofcertain building codes, and will be safe, providing for a high level ofillumination and interesting textured surfaces on the ceiling.

A further object of this invention is to produce an illuminated ceilingcombination with a source of illumination which is not visible frombelow a 45 angle above the horizon, and this is considered to be theangle of normal perception.

A further object of this invention is to produce an illuminated ceilinghaving a glowing effect formed of rectangular strands which reflect anddifluse the light, making use of a high proportion of secondary andtertiary light giving an etheral effect. Said illuminated ceiling wouldbe useful with all types of illumination.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, said invention,then, consists of the means hereinafter fully decsribed and particularlypointed out in the claims; the following description setting forth indetail one approved means of carrying out the invention, such disclosedmeans, however, constituting but one of the various ways in which theprinciples of the invention may be used.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a plan view of a woven structural material which makes up thisilluminated ceiling combination,

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the entire illuminatedceiling, particularly through 3-3 of Fig. 1 in so far as it relates tothe woven structural material,

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of another weave useful for woven structuralmaterials in a ceiling panel,

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of Fig. 4 showingthe longitudinal support members, and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 66 of Fig. 4 showingparticularly the transverse support members.

In Fig. 1, 10 shows the strands in the longitudinal 2,886,697 PatentedMay 12, 1959 direction and 11 the strands in the transverse direction,i.e., the cross strands. These are formed in a rather tight pattern witha spacing between the strands both longitudinally and transversely aboutequal to the width of a strand. These strands then are formed ofmaterial which is of rectangular cross section as is shown at 12, havinga top which is flat as is shown at 13 as well as sides 14. In theweaving process the sides are bulged or extruded in various ways toprovide reflective surfaces that are other than parallel one to another,and thus cause the light to diffuse, producing the effect of a glowingceiling.

The woven structural material is formed to be made into an illuminatedceiling panel and is a light reflecting material. This is shown at 15. Asource of illumination, which may be fluorescent, is shown at 16, withsuitable support members, which are not visible in Fig. 1. The wovenstructural material is shown at 17. At the spacing between thereflecting surface 15 and the illumination there would be a spacingapproximately equal to the spacing between the source of illuminationand the woven structural material. In Fig. 3 this is designated asDimension A, and this is approximately equal to Dimension B.

It will further be seen in connection with this figure that a highfraction of the light passing through the woven structural material willbe secondary or tertiary illumination, i.e., after it is reflected fromone or more surfaces. Some portion of the light will strike the curvedextruded surfaces on the sides of the woven structural material and passthrough the openings. Other portions will touch the top of the wovenstructural material and reflect against the reflective surface 15 andthen pass through some opening. In any event, the combination of theelements will produce a high portion of secondary and tertiary light.

In connection with the strands themselves to form the woven structuralmaterial making up this illuminated ceiling combination, it has beenarbitrarily indicated that the depth of a strand would be approximatelyequal to Dimension C, and the width of a strand would be equal toDimension D shown on the drawing. In a number of cases it is believedthat Dimension C should be approximately equal to Dimension D, as thiswould produce approximately a 45 angle which is the angle of normalperception above the horizon. For the purposes of this feature it ispresumed that a person would not raise his eyes above this normal angleof perception and if the light cannot be seen below this angle therewill be little or no glare as seen in these illuminated ceiling panels.

Other combinations and spacings between the width of the rectangularstrand and the spacing between the strands may be used, but it isbelieved that this combination of a diffusing ceiling produces a glowingeffect which has been described as having an ethereal effect, the lightpassing directly through the screen to a certain extent but beingdiffused by the strands, which, though rectangular, are extrudedoutwardly forming curved surfaces from which they reflect. Since thestrands are woven up and down they also produce curved surfaces on theirtop face and diffuse the light, bouncing it upwardly against thereflective surface and downwardly through other openings in the wovenstructural material. This produces a combination of secondary andtertiary light having a high portion of light which is at leastsecondary or greater and causes the glowing effect mentioned above.

It is further realized that the woven structural material formed in thisilluminated ceiling gives a textured appearance which has been said tolook like cast glass. Of course, it is appreciated that glass in anylarge panel is dangerous in public places, elevators and the like, sincethese panels may be broken accidentally and might cause damage to thepublic. Storms, earthquakes and the like would be inclined to fractureor break the panels. Other materials which are used in place of glassare frequently described as egg crate construction and have, togetherwith other plastics, a great afiinity for dust. This material, being ametal woven structure, does not have this aflinity. Besides, it passes ahigh proportion of the light through the screen, producing theappearance described above.

Another construction of this invention is illustrated in the illuminatedceiling shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. Here only the reverse side of anexample of a weave used for the material has been shown. The spacingbetween the strands of the woven structural material may be modifiedconsiderably and is shown here in only one view. Basically, thismaterial used for a ceiling comprises a plurality of longtiudinalstrands of generally rectangular cross section, formed together, in thiscase in fours. These strands are designated 20, 21, 22 and 23. The crossstrands are shown at 24, 25 and 26. The support members for thesestrands are on strand 21 at 27, and upon the cross strand 25 at 28.

Fig. 4 shows only a fragmentary view of this invention but the viewshows more than one panel. The dividing line between the panels is splitbetween a group of strands, forming the weave. This parting line isshown at 29. In this way adjacent panels may be placed together to givean appearance of a continuous span across the ceiling. It might bepossible under some conditions to design the screen so that it iscapable of supporting itself but the size of the woven structuralmaterial would be so great that it might be impractical. With supportingmembers the size and strength of the strands forming the panel aregreatly reduced. By splitting a group of strands to form adjacent panelsthe strands in each adjacent panel complement each other making up theweave, or a group of strands of equivalent width to the adjacent group.This gives a continuous appearance and it is very dimcult, if notimpossible, to distinguish the junction between the panels.

In connection with the supporting members, said supporting members ingeneral should be parallel to and centrally located with respect to thestrands, either transversely or longitudinally. In connection withlongitudinal strand 21, a support member 27 has been secured thereto, asshown particularly in Figs. 4 and 5, said support members secured tostrand 21 as by welding at 31, and 32. These junctions must be at thetop or knuckle portion of the strand and must not be secured at thelower portion of the strand. It is essential that the illumination passbeneath the supporting member to give a continuous appearance ofillumination without undue shadows. Shadows create a discontinuousappearance that is objectionable. Though longitudinal supports may besufficient in some cases, the great weight of the ceilings mightnecessitate transverse supports. Cross supports may be used bypositioning them above the cross strands and secured in the same mannerto the knuckle portion, as by welding, which is shown at 33 where crosssupport 28 is welded to the knuckle of the longitudinal strands. Othermeans may be employed to integrate the cross and longitudinal supportingmembers but the details of how this is done are not shown here and arebelieved to be conventional in supporting structures. It would besufficient to say that these longitudinal and cross supports in generalare barely visible from below. Preferably, these special constructiontechniques are resorted to in order to reduce any possible incidentalvision which a keen observer might distinguish.

In the case of fluorescent illumination in a weave such as this, theelongated tubes of fluorescent lights may be roughly perpendicular tothe longitudinal strands forming the weave. This is because theradiation of the tubes is perpendicular and it would pass through theslots in the longitudinal strands.

Further, as far as it is possible, the cross supports should be parallelto and behind a longitudinal strand. In this way illumination will be ofequal intensity on each side of the strand and though the support itselfwill not be visible from directly below, from an angle the support mightbe visible. However, an equal amount of illumination on either side ofthe supporting member will reduce its apparent visibility from below,even when viewed above the normal angle of perception.

It is further advisable in connection with these structures and theirlighting facilities that supports should not be placed close to the endsof the illuminated ceiling, as it would be difficult to arrange for anequal degree of illumination on either side of the support. In the eventthat the illumination is fluorescent it might be preferable to placetransverse support members intermediate the tubes of fluorescentillumination, in that by this means the degree of illumination on eitherside would be approximately equal and their visibility would be reduced.

This illuminated ceiling emphasizes the fact that the source ofillumination itself, the bulbs of fluorescent or incandescent lighting,is small in proportion to the size of the ceiling, but because of itsreflection from the woven structural material and the reflectivesurface, and because of the secondary and tertiary illumination, theentire eflect of the ceiling will be that of a glowing ceiling. In oneexample, which is approximately that of Figs. 4, 5 and 6, it was notedthat the spacing between the rectangular strands was only equal to aboutone-fifth that of the strand width. However, to the observer theillumination appears to be in an area which is about equal to the widthof the strand because of the apparent enlargement of the opening betweenthe strands.

This entire improvement can be considered analogous to the effect ofillumination in identification work where a high level of illuminationis placed upon a woven structural material, or other foraminousconstruction, so that in another portion of the illumination on theother side of the woven structural material, an observer can lookthrough the openings in the material and see an illuminated subject,possibly for identification purposes. Here the reflections from theintervening structural material cause a glare so that the subject beingidentified cannot see the people on the other side of the room.

Much the same effect has been seen from out-ofdoors on a bright dayagainst a bronze screen, where the reflectrons from the sun preventvision through the screen into the interior of the building. The variouslevels of illumination make it more diflicult to see under thecircumstances. This invention is the converse of the aforementionedprinciple in that a high level of illumination is being produced in aconfined area above a woven structural material, wherein the material isso formed that it is formed having curved surfaces by bending and byextruding the material itself so that a high portion of the light iswhat is known as tertiary and secondary light, having been reflectedfrom a light reflecting ceiling material and a source of concentratedillumination so that it passes through openings in the woven structuralmaterial. When seen from below at the normal angle of perception, thisappears as a glowing ceiling because the strands are so arranged withtheir openings that no direct vision is possible, and rather thancausing a high degree of direct illumination, a large fraction of thelight rays are reflected one or more times producing high secondary andtertiary illumination. This produces the glowing effect aforementioned.

Other combinations of illuminated ceilings and reflective materials,together with their supporting structures, are possible, but thedescription given in connection with Figs. 4, 5 and 6, as well as theearlier Figures 1, 2 and 3, will make very apparent the general scopeand operational characteristics of this illuminated ceiling, producingthe glowing effect that it does.

I wish it to be understood that I do not confine myself to the precisedetails herein set forth in the preferred means of carrying out myinvention, as it is apparent that many changes and variations may bemade by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit ofthe invention or exceeding the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An illuminated ceiling combination formed of a woven structuralmaterial comprising longitudinal and cross strands and a source ofillumination, said woven structural material being formed in largepanels and having support means at spaced intervals along the panel,said support means being formed parallel to the longitudinal strands andof lesser width than that of the longitudinal strands, said supportmeans being secured to the longitudinal strands whereby the supportmeans for said woven structural material are not visible from belowbecause they are hidden behind the longitudinal strands.

2. An illuminated ceiling comprising a light reflecting surface, aplurality of lighting tubes parallel to said ceiling and spacedtherefrom, and a metallic woven structural material spaced below saidtubes a distance approximately equal to the distance of the tubes belowsaid ceiling, the strands of said woven structural material beingrectangular with the rectangular portion parallel to the ceiling, theside and top surfaces being bent so that the light is reflected anddiffused, producing a soft glowing ceiling, the spacing between saidstrands being not greater than the depth of the strands whereby thedirect illumination is not visible at the angle of normal perception.

3. An illuminated ceiling combination comprising a light reflectivesurface, illumination spaced below said surface and parallel thereto,metallic woven structural material below and parallel to theillumination, the woven structural material being spaced below adistance approximately equal to the distance from the illumination tothe ceiling, said woven structural material being formed of strandswhich are rectangular and in which one side of the rectangle is parallelto the ceiling, said strands also being formed together in a weaveformed of groups of strands, the illumination being perpendicular to thelongitudinal strands forming the weave whereby the light passes directlythrough the openings in the woven structural material and is reflectedfrom the sides of the woven structural material and diffused, as well asbeing reflected from the woven structural material, resulting in aglowing effect because of the prominence of secondary and tertiaryillumination.

4. The illuminated ceiling combination of claim 3, in which the spacingbetween the rectangular strands is not greater than the depth of thestrand so that little direct illumination is visible from the angle ofnormal perception.

5. An illuminated ceiling combination comprising a light reflectivesurface, a plurality of lighting tubes parallel to said surface, a wovenstructural material spaced therefrom and parallel to said surface, saidwoven structural material being spaced from the tubes an equal distancethat the tubes are spaced from the ceiling, said woven structuralmaterial being formed from rectangular strands, the surface of which areparallel to the ceiling, said material being formed in a weave formed ofgroups of strands woven together, having the lighting perpendicular tothe longitudinal strands forming the weave and support members for saidwoven structural material, said support members being formed of materialwhich has equivalent light reflecting surface and finish to that of thewoven structural material, said support members being attached to thewoven structural material and its strands and being of reducedcross-sectional width so that it is not visible from directly below thewoven structural material, said support members further beingperpendicular to the lighting tubes where possible, said support membersfurther being positioned on the woven structural material with equaldegrees of illumination on each side of the sup port member so that whenviewed from below, even above the angle of normal perception, they willappear to be as a part of the woven structural material and will notcast undesirable shadows and consequently will result in a glowingceiling.

6. The illuminated ceiling combination of claim 5 in which the supportmembers are spaced away from the edges, reducing shadows which arecreated by different amounts of illumination on the various sides of thesupport member.

7. The illuminated ceiling combination of claim 5 in which the supportmembers are composed of longitudinal supporting members and crosssupports, and in which the longitudinal support members are attached atthe highest portion of the longitudinal strands but not attachedtherebetween, said supporting members, as indicated, being of lesserwidth than the width of the strand and being parallel to the lightingtubes, thus providing equal amounts of illumination on either side ofthe support member, said illuminated ceiling being further provided withcross supports perpendicular to said earlier supports, but said crosssupports being positioned as far as is possible between the tubes sothat an equal amount of illumination will appear on each side of thesupport, said cross supports being of lesser width than the crossstrands and being positioned centrally of said cross strands, wherebythe combination of longitudinal and cross supports provides a continuousceiling with no shadows.

8. In an illuminated ceiling combination providing a source ofillumination, means attached to a ceiling for reflecting saidillumination, said source of illumination being spaced therefrom, awoven structural material spaced from said source of illuminationcomprising longi tudinal and cross strands having openings therebetween,said longitudinal and cross strands being formed by bulging and formingof the strands so that a high fraction of the illumination below theWoven material is secondary or tertiary light, producing a glowingceiling in which the direct illumination is not apparently visible frombelow in the angle of normal perception.

9. The illuminated ceiling combination of claim 5 in which the wovenstructural material is made up of a plurality of panels with supportingmembers which comprises a partial group of strands in one panel and acomplementing portion of said group of strands in an adjoining panel sothat the strands are complemented in the weave to form a single group ofstrands of equivalent width to carry out its original weave, producing apanel of indefinite extent.

10. In an illuminated ceiling combination of claim 8, support means forthe woven structural material which are not apparently visible frombelow, comprising cross support members of lesser width than the crossmembers secured to the longitudinal strands on one side of the wovenstructural material and above the cross strands, whereby continuous andapparently unsupported panels may be formed as seen from the oppositeside, which may be supported by said means though not apparently visiblefrom below.

11. In an illuminated ceiling combination of claim 8 having additionalsupport means in the form of longitudinal supporting members, saidlongitudinal supporting members being of lesser width than thelongitudinal members and secured to said longitudinal members at spacedpoints along the woven structural material, whereby support is providedboth in a longitudinal and cross direction for said material.

12. In an illuminated ceiling combination of claim 8, in which the wovenstructural material has longitudinal strands being woven together ingroups of strands, means in connection with said material for forming acontinuous woven panel of indefinite extent, which comprises means inconnection with one group of cross strands severed intermediate saidgroup of cross strands, means in con- References Cited in the file ofthis patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Ransom Sept. 15, 1885 Teal Oct. 18,1903 Greening Aug. 27, 1912 Mayer Dec. 7, 1920 8 1,709,951 RichardsonApr. 23, 1,767,179 Johns June 24, 1,956,773 Pflueger May 1, 2,013,762Olsen Sept. 10, 2,049,251 Deitsch July 28, 2,090,529 Grum Aug. 17,2,269,869 Specht Jan. 13, 2,506,951 Doane May 9, 2,607,455 Yellin Aug.19,

OTHER REFERENCES Electrical World, page 118, April 7, 1952.

